WHAT SPOILS OUR STRENGTH?

Are we bolted down to the absolute rock of who He is?

Or are we relying on our own strength?

This week, the Lord has been doing some major heart surgery, yet again.

How much more Lord? 

I knew something was up because it's been incredibly painful but I wasn't quite sure what it was about. 

He's been showing me a picture of broken walls, little walls, but very broken. 

And He's also been showing me a lighthouse.  We've been learning about lighthouses at church.  Our pastor, Chris, has preached some very insightful sermons on that. 

How does any of that relate to this week's Five Minute Friday prompt word from - SPOIL? 

If we are meant to be a lighthouse that stands firm and shines for those in darkness, because we contain the Light of the world, what spoils that?

I was reading about this lighthouse that crashed, killing the assistant lighthouse keeper.   

"Over the years there'd been speculation that Whale Rock Lighthouse wasn't fastened to its base. One keeper even put this belief into the lighthouse's log. Some local residents believed this was the reason the lighthouse was destroyed. On November 9, 1938, the 2nd District Associate Engineer visited the remains of Whale Rock Lighthouse to find out why it was destroyed. During the examination of its concrete base, he discovered the lighthouse wasn't fastened to the base. He found "no evidence of anchor bolts or any other means by which the cast iron tower plates were actually held to the masonry pier, except for the brick tower lining, which appeared to be 8 inches thick at the bottom, and the mass of the entire tower." This wasn't the reason the lighthouse was destroyed, though. The engineer found some of the bolts holding the lighthouse's cast iron plate together were corroded. This weakened its structural integrity. The repeated pounding of the waves on September 21 jarred the corroded bolts loose and tore the top off."

This lighthouse was strong, withstood many, many storms, shone its light to help many.   It was built on a rock but turns out it wasn't bolted down properly to the rock, and its own bolts were corroded.    

It wasn't the rock that failed.  It wasn't the storm that led to its demise, though the storm was severe.  

It wasn't anchored properly and its corroding bolts spoiled its strength and mission.

What are the missing bolts that threaten to spoil our strength and purpose and ability to withstand the storms?

Are we bolted down to the absolute solid Rock - Jesus - and His truths?

Are there truths missing, like the bolts, that will potentially bring us down, if not now, then when life gets harder? 

I found out this week that I wasn't actually as anchored as I thought I was to the Rock, Jesus, and that some of my key bolts were missing and corroded.   God knew.  He put His finger on that wound, a core wound, and wouldn't take it off until the pressure got enough for me to face it and let Him heal it properly.   God is up to something - rebuilding, reworking, restoring, redeeming.   He doesn't want anything to spoil our strength or our ability to know His love in the depths of our soul.  

Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.  Ps 51:6

Yesterday, my pastors reminded me of these words, as they prayed through our new home.  

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:   and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock." Matthew 7: 24,25 

I will write more about the heart surgery hopefully soon.   It's still settling and raw.    But I have been reminded several times recently that we MUST let Him deal with those structural strongholds and 'bolts' that threaten to spoil our strength if we want to be a strong lighthouse that houses His light to this very dark world.  

He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.   Psalm 40:2

My rock, my shield, my firm foundation

I know I will not be shaken

You remind me

Where my help comes from

This is the truth I'm standing on

Even when all my strength is gone

You are faithful forever

And I know You'll never

Let me fall